4 days: baking up a storm!

Tomorrow is the day the milkman cometh, so today is the day we broke out the mixer and all sorts of other baking implements and set to work on a few batches of sugar and ginger bread cookies. I probably said this last year, too, but doing this always renews my sense of respect for those people who make and decorate Christmas cookies that are either a) beautiful and error-less, b) turned out in high quantities, or c) all of the above. It is a fun activity, though.

Christmas in Dexter

Our little village loves Christmas. All cities have their different way of celebrating the season. Dexter's version includes a weekend of sales, ice sculptures, reindeer, bazaars, tree lighting, feasts, and Santas. Last year we participated in all of the above, but this year the events were all scheduled for one day, and that day just happened to be Sinterklaasavond, so this year we were limited to the bazaars, the library book sale, and Santas.

Calvin thought breakfast with Santa at the Lighthouse Cafe was the bee's knees. What can be better than enjoying pancakes with blueberries and OJ while the big man in red asks you what you want for Chrismtas and continually lets out a jubliant "ho ho ho"? Jon and I enjoyed coffee and a rare meal of adult conversation, since the kid was so taken with watching St. Nick.

Breakfast energied us for the rush at the library book sale. Have I previously mentioned how fantastic our library book sales are? Well, forget it if I did. We don't need any more visitors—we'd like to keep all the books to ourselves. This trip supplied us with a few more classics (Portrait of a Lady! It's within the next few on my to read list, too) and the obligatory handful of children's books (when I picked Calvin up from his afternoon class last week his teacher mentioned to me how very obvious it was that he adores books—I was proud).

The book sale stop got us in the mood for shopping, so after that we hit up the three Christmas bazaars—the Girl Scouts (got a great handmade ornament), the senior center (got a few dandy flea market type items), and the musem (got some great hand mades). This was actually our first trip into the Dexter museum, and I'm intrigued enough to add it to our "must do in 2010" list. All the antiques (old fashioneds, according to Calvin) were pushed out of the way to make room for the various sale tables (hand mades and baked goods), and for Santa and Mrs. Claus (really, Mrs. Clause in a rather short and flirty claus outfit complete with tights and elf shoes). Calvin's second visit (of the day) with the man in red went equally as well as the first. He didn't want to leave.

All that shopping left us just hungry enough to hit up the Koney Island on the way home for their lunch with Santa event. That made Santa number three, and the activity never got old. Last year Calvin's first Santa visit was in the Dexter Gazebo, and we hadn't prepared him for the inevitable "what do you want?" quesiton. He answered with "an African wild dog" last year. This year we were just as lax in our preparation, but Calvin was equal to the task on his own—he had an entire list that he rattled off, clearly and precisely, to each and every Santa, and while the items may not have remained in the same order, they were all there. It also happens to be the same list that he worked out when talking to his grandmother about it a few weeks ago. There is something to be said for cosnistency, and for a good memory.

Bandemer Park

The sunshine called us outside today.

We woke up to a warm sun streaming through the bedroom window and falling on the blankets under which we lazily stretched before responding to the cheerful clamor coming over the receiver on the night table. It's the clamor that woke us, not the sun—a three year old's cheerful clamor that was too energetic for that hour of the morning, as it always is.

The sun surprised us. I think we'd resigned ourselves to the gray fall weather that has been inching in a bit more towards grey winter weather every day, so we hadn't been watching the forecasts and the appearance of the sun was a delightful surprise. Almost as insistent at the early morning clamor, all through our waking moments, and then through a delightful pancake breakfast, that sunshine entreated us to come out and enjoy its waning warmth one last time for the season. The little clamorer didn't object.

Jon passes by Bandemer Park every weekday morning on his way to work, and long before the clamorer was even a twinkle we'd hiked through the area together, but we've never officially visited the park before today. Fall is a great time for a hike. The heat and humidity that make mid-summer hiking less than desirable are gone, and the crunch of leaves under foot as we explore sun dappled open spaces in the depth of forest delights us every one. The bare tree branches suddenly reveal to us the cornucopia of feathered voices that is invisible to all but the ears during the green months of the year. The four footed park denizens are busier than ever as they prepare for the cold days ahead.

We spent about three hours hiking from one river crossing to the other and back again on the other side. On the west side we found Frisbee golf, Frisbee golfers, lots of joggers, glimpses of train tracks, and even one passenger train with a very friendly engineer who extended his arm out the engine window to wave to a delighted Calvin. The woods on that side was broken up by paved paths, the Frisbee golf course, and those delightfully magical sun dappled open spaces.

The east side was steeper, with old tree growth that wasn't interrupted at all. What appears to be the oldest, or at least the largest, tree in Ann Arbor graces those banks. Calvin tired of walking about half way down that side and ended up lounging in the crook of that tree. I think he was pretending that he was the engineer driving the tree as a train engine. The squirrels and birds were equally busy on both sides. I could swear, though, that the East side squirrels were fatter and more friendly; there are houses on that side where they've probably become accustomed to begging for gluttonous meals, or scoping out bird feeders from which to steal them. We're lucky we made it back to the car without being mugged for our granola.

Community Fair, take two

Fall, of course, isn't just about football and tailgating.  Fall is also about beautiful foliage, plentiful harvests, and community fairs.  Last month we attended the Chelsea Community Fair, and September is when Saline traditionally takes its turn at displaying its seasonal bounty, including champion steer, large melons, and crazy carnies, all of which were also available last month in Chelsea.  Saline, however, does have one major thing going for it over Chelsea, and that's Preschoolers' Day.  While at the Chelsea Fair it took a small fortune for an evening of entertainment, today at the Saline Fair Preschoolers' Day it took all of seventeen dollars, and that considerable sum got us in to see the animals, the produce, and the carnies, and also included a one hour concert by Gemini (our favorite!), lots of tot type games, and all the rides a toddler could care to enjoy.  Since the weather cooperated we were able to enjoy all of the above.  The Percheron stallions were my favorite animal, I think, while Calvin enjoyed one particular goat, and Gram seemed to enjoy those noisy, feathery roosters.  Gemini was a huge hit, of course, to the point that the woman in front of us asked if Calvin had the CD at home, since he obviously knew all the songs by heart.  As for the rides?  We happened to know, from the small fortune spent in Chelsea, that those would be a hit, and he's never been one to disappoint.  This one goes in the books as a real gem of an event.  Too bad it only comes once a year.

Labor Day weekend

We labored right through the holiday weekend, putting some final 2009 touches on the new garden we added this year, the pictures of which we will share soon.  The story of the garden itself is pretty good, one that I'll want to spend a little more time formulating before I throw it up here, so you'll have to take my word for it that by the time Monday night rolled around we were three tired puppies.  Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that, in addition to all that labor, we also partied our way through the weekend.  The full moon was delightful on Friday night, so we donned bug spray and long pants, grabbed our flashlights, and went for a full moon hike in the meadow, looking for bats and owls.  We didn't find any owls, but we found plenty of wonderful bats, and a handful of yawns as well.  Saturday, of course, was Opening Day for tailgaters, and Sunday found us staying up late yet again, this time for a camp fire in our own driveway (the backyard patio doesn't exist yet), complete with marshmallows and ghost stories.  I'd say it was a perfect holiday weekend.